Tweety's Circus
Tweety's Circus is a 1955 Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short subject features Sylvester and Tweety. Plot A carefree Sylvester walks into the circus singing his theme "Meow!" where he visits the various animal exhibits. There, upon seeing the lion exhibit, the unimpressed puddy tat immediately expresses his displeasure over the large feline's billing. However, Sylvester is far more interested in Tweety ... and thus the chase begins. Tweety runs into the big top, where the lion (now uncaged) is waiting to maul Sylvester for his earlier remarks. Sylvester tries beating what he thinks is a fire hose to free Tweety, unknowing that the "hose" is an elephant's trunk. The elephant grabs Sylvester with his trunk and — after crushing his chest — throws the battered puss into the lion's cage, where the lion finishes the job. Other run-ins with the lion, elephant and other animals — all ending with Sylvester getting the worst of things — involve him exploiting his abilities as a high diver (Tweety directs the elephant to "drink it all down" (referring to the water) before Sylvester lands), a fire eater (the lion makes Sylvester eat the fire) and a high-wire walker. Sylvester finally gets rid of the lion ... only to unwittingly lock himself in a cage with even more lions. Tweety immediately takes a hat and cane and becomes a carnival barker ("Huwwy! Huwwy! Huwwy! Step wight up for da gweatest show on Eawth! Fifty wions and one puddy tat!") A loud roar erupts, and with Sylvester presumably having met his fate, Tweety changes his spiel: "Step wight up! Fifty wions, count 'em, fifty wions!" Availability * (1998) VHS - Looney Tunes Presents: Tweety: Tweet and Lovely ''(1998 dubbed version) * (2001) DVD - ''I Love Tweety: Volume 1 (restored) Censorship *The ABC version of this cartoon edits two scenes http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-t.aspx: **The part where Sylvester beats the lion with a mallet had the beatings cut from six to one (much like in the ABC version of the 1955 Freleng cartoon "Roman Legion-Hare"). **The part where Sylvester hides from the lion by impersonating Flammo the fire-eater (by swallowing a flaming sword) was cut. *The CBS version edited out the same scenes as ABC, only the CBS version cut the scene of Sylvester beating the lion more severely (instead of reducing the hits, CBS just cut the part entirely). *The syndicated Merrie Melodies Show leaves in the fire-eating part, but, like ABC, reduces the part where Sylvester beats the lion. Unlike ABC, the Merrie Melodies Show version halved the beatings from six times to three. Notes This was the last cartoon to bear the "1941-55" Merrie Melodies ending theme. All other cartoons starting with "Hare Brush" would use the "1955-64" opening and ending theme. The high dive scene features Tweety in a twist on The Canyon Fall Gag (landing into a water-filled tub at the bottom of the ladder). It is one of the few intentional executions of such a descent. References *Friedwald, Will and Jerry Beck. "The Warner Brothers Cartoons." Scarecrow Press Inc., Metuchen, N.J., 1981. ISBN 0-8108-1396-3. External Links * *[https://sfx-resource.fandom.com/wiki/Tweety%27s_Circus_(1955) Tweety's Circus] on the SFX Resoruce Succession Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Tweety Cartoons Category:Sylvester Cartoons Category:Shorts Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:1955 Category:Cartoons written by Warren Foster Category:Cartoons animated by Ted Bonnicksen Category:Cartoons with layouts by Hawley Pratt Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Irv Wyner Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with music by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer